Michelin's New Primacy MXV4 Tire - General Impressions

[removeum]

I put Goodyear Comfort Tred's on both Prius that I have owned. I did not notice any hit on the mileage and they handled the weather and road conditions in and around Omaha, NE without any problems.

[Graz]

I am ShOcKeD that none of you has even looked at the Conti Comfort Treads. Cost less,cget better mileage, no problem with traction, and I "think" they are quieter too.

YMMV

[wolverine]

Just an FYI. I was having problems with my Prius Touring 2008 pulling to the left just a smidge, so I took it to my alignment guy in Houston, who's been doing this for 30 years. He had to modify the left rear support to be able to bring the alignment within spec. Now, my car drives straight and true.

Ehn you get your car aligned, to be proper, you must have weight in the car equal to how the car is weighted in most of its driving. For me, that's just me in the driver's seat; I'm 6'3", 220. When someone aligns my car without me in it, and then I sit in it, the wheels are no longer aligned. Try it.
Something's wrong with Priuses that we're not being told about. You shouldn't have to jack with modifying the car to get it to run true.

[A. B. Hair]

Thanks, I have hope but I am still off about 5 mph off. I now have 1000 miles on the Primacy tires. The weather here has been mild for SC in Feb.

[montenido]

Hi all. Based on the original post, I made the switch to Michelin Primacy MXV4s in 195/60. The tires are so much better than the Integrities. Quieter, smoother, and much better handling. My MPG does seem to be taking a small hit. I am half-way through my first tank and I am averaging about 46 MPG, down from 47-48. I also added mud guards at the beginning of this tank of gas, so they may be combining with the wider tires to drop the MPG. I will take the hit for this kind of improvement in the ride. Perhaps thing will improve as the tires break in.

Thanks for the insightful review.

montenido

[A. B. Hair]

I now have 2500 miles in the Michelin Primacy tires. At first I dectected aboujt 3 to 4 miles drop in mileage even with 40 - 38 lbs pressure. However, the local temp is warmer now and and my mileage has returned to normal which is around 49 mph. I am happy with the Michelins.

[gregvsandt]

I am glad to hear about the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires doing well. I have been in the tire business for 40 plus years and I am trying to pick the next tire for my 2008 with 1300 miles on it. The Goodyears seem to be doing just fine, quite, smooth, handle-OK, can't really complain. Looks like I will get around 40 to 50 thousand on them. I have always replaced my OE tires with a Michlein in the past and will probably pick this tire, the Primacy MXV4. I will stick with the P185/65R15 stock size, see no reason to switch to a bigger size. On the alignment side of things there is a shim by Specialty Co. to correct camber and toe on the rear of 01-08 Prius. If anyone asks, and the alignment person can't find it, its a brand new fitment. He can get the fitment online at Specialty Products Corporate Home Page. The first thing I do when I get a new car is pass it over the alignment rack and check it out, mine was out a very small amount. The rear was perfect, camber and toe, the front was out a small amount of camber. Can't wait to hear what your tire mileage is as the Michelin Primacy MXV4 is a 60,000 mile tire, but I bet you can do better as the Prius is not that heavy.

[HardCase]

Originally Posted by qbee42

I'm running the 185/65/15 in last year's model, the MXV4+ Energy. I haven't noticed any drop in mileage, but ride, handling, noise, and traction are vastly improved. I use them for all of our seasons: nearly winter, winter, still winter, and August.

Here in Montana we have a similar seasonal rotation, only we refer to them as: Amost winter, winter, still winter, and Construction.

[Doc Willie]

Originally Posted by gregvsandt

I will stick with the P185/65R15 stock size, see no reason to switch to a bigger size.

If you get a chance sometime, drive a Prius with 195s on it. Nothing else I have done to the car has made as big a difference in handling.

Reason enough for me.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by gregvsandt

I On the alignment side of things there is a shim by Specialty Co. to correct camber and toe on the rear of 01-08 Prius. If anyone asks, and the alignment person can't find it, its a brand new fitment. He can get the fitment online at Specialty Products Corporate Home Page..

Good find. I had to add custom made shims (made by Galaxee's DH) to correct my rear toe problem. It is good to see that the aftermarket companies are starting to acknowledge this issue.